Questions from a new user

[Briscoe]

Hi,

I joined a couple weeks ago and have been lurking. I am very new at this and have a couple very basic questions. I apologize if this is not in the right forum.

 

First, how can you tell for sure if a coin has been cleaned? I have a couple nice coins I would like to have graded but don't want to send them in if they will not be graded.

 

Next, what is the best resources for learning how to grade?

 

Any help will be appreciated,

 

Terry

[WaxonWaxov]

For the cleaning question, if you can take a good close-up picture and post it here, there are people on board (I'm not one of them) who can look at the pic tell sometimes.

 

Or you can take it to a coin dealer and ask his opinion, but make sure he's a dealer you can trust.

[bsshog40]

An agressively cleaned coin will have alot of hairline scratches. You may need to post pics depending on the coin so these cannot be mistaken for poor die strikes also. I own an ANA grading standards book and just purchased a "Photograde" book. Both these books have been very helpful for me. There are alot of knowledgeable collectors here on the forum and pictures always help also. Welcome to the forum Terry.

[rbrown4]

Welcome,

 

You can also go to a web site such as Heritage Auctions and join for free which will give you access to unlimited pics of all coins which can be very helpful in comparing to what you have grade wise and value wise.

 

Also, take advantage of the NGC Registry and the pics from Registry members of their collection and descriptions.

 

rbrown4

[dooly]

HI Welcome

 

Post some pictures we love to see them!

 

Grading comes with time or ther are a few picture grading books out there looking at lots and lots of coins is the best way..

[123cents]

Welcome to the forum Terry. I would suggest the book Photograde by James F. Ruddy when it comes to developing grading skills. It illustrates and shows grades for every U.S. type coin.

[jesbroken]

Terry

Welcome to the forum. Please do provide photos as many of these gents are very talented and knowledgeable in a variety of coin fields if not all and will be of a great value to you.

No doubt the photograde book is of the utmost importance in learning to grade coins. It is very simple and straightforward with pics. Plus it is small and easy to carry.

Should you want more depth in your grading a very knowledgeable book is the

Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection-edited by Scott A Travers.

It is quite a bit more in depth.

Good luck.

Jes

[CoinCurious]

I also like the ANA Grading Standards, found it to be a useful book.

[DaveG]

Coins that are likely to be "body-bagged" for "cleaning" usually fall into two camps: those that have been abrasively cleaned and those that have been exposed to a harsh chemical or acid.

 

Coins that have been abrasively cleaned (polished, rubbed by a pencil eraser or with toothpaste, for example) will usually display a lot of fine, parallel scratch markes. Rotating the coin under a light source while examining it through a 5x magnifying glass will usually let you see the scratches.

 

Coins that have been exposed to a harsh chemical or acid will usually display a color that just isn't natural - it's hard to describe, but easy to see in person.

 

Photograde by James Ruddy has a very nice chapter on coin cleaning - what to look for, etc.

[michael]

welcome

 

go to the nearest library and go to the coin book section they will have maybe the ana grading guide and photograde this is a good start

 

good chapters on cleaned coins etc.

 

or go to the barnes and noble and borders book stores or some chain bookstores or your local coin shop and they should have these grading guides for you to buy at 15 dollars or less per book

 

this is a great start

[cladking]

It's not a matter of whether a coin has been cleaned or not, just whether it looks like it's been cleaned. Coins can get cleaned naturally in circulation sometimes and collector coins can be cleaned without impairing their value if done properly. (don't do it on a good coin until you have a lot of experience)

 

Generally speaking a coin "looks cleaned" when there is a uniformity of color which isn't consistent with its grade. Coins tone and darken at different rates on the surface so there is usually more color on the fields at the base onf the devices. Cleaning strips off all the color and and will leave the entire coin a uniform grey color. Coins will "heal" in time if the cleaning is mild but harsh cleaning will require the coin be worn down to below the depth of the cleaning to hide it.

[James_OldeTowne]

Welcome to our friendly little neighborhood!